Speed traps at WDW

[KevinFSU]

Well when you exit off of I-4 and the first area is 35mph, it's utterly absurd. It's just to get people caught for speeding. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to do 45-55mph through there. No buildings, no roads, no cross traffic, four lanes. It's just a joke.

By the way, Florida doesn't report points. So if you are an out-of-state driver, it won't be picked up by your home state. In fact, you can get away with not paying it because your state won't know or suspend your license, but...FL will put a bench warrent out for you if you ever come back and are pulled over again. I know a lot of international visitors who get tickets and don't ever pay them.

The speed traps are really crap and it's taking advantage of absurdly low speed limits and tourists with a lot of money on hand. It's just the state being greedy.
-m

MissM, you are clearly misinformed, and are going to get some people in trouble. Most states have reciprocity agreements when it comes to this. If you fail to pay a ticket here, and there is a reciprocity agreement between Florida and that state, Florida will notify your home state and your license will be suspended.

 

[KevinFSU]

Disney gave them the OK to pull people over, heck WDW built an OCSO Sheriff's substation near Downtown Disney.

My problem is if they're on WDW payroll, they shouldn't be handing out STATE ISSUED citations.

Police are police 24/7. Police are hired off duty all the time. Doesn't matter who they are working for at the time, they can enforce every single law, including traffic infractions.

 

[markc]

Police are police 24/7. Police are hired off duty all the time. Doesn't matter who they are working for at the time, they can enforce every single law, including traffic infractions.

You're missing the point here; there's something radically wrong when law enforcement is being paid or "encouraged" to do their job via a private organization. Such incentives leads to an abuse on the part of law enforcement which happens quite often these days (I'm not saying every cop or police officer is crooked; like any other profession..youv'e got your bad apples and your good ones..it's just those professions with such power tend to have more cases of corruption and wrong doing). This isn't a new issue though; insurance companies have long been accused of funding law enforcement to ensure that more people are pulled over for minor moving violations. Whether or not there's actual validity in those claims is another issue in itself.

 

[markc]

MissM, you are clearly misinformed, and are going to get some people in trouble. Most states have reciprocity agreements when it comes to this. If you fail to pay a ticket here, and there is a reciprocity agreement between Florida and that state, Florida will notify your home state and your license will be suspended.

Kevin, most states DO NOT have reciprocity agreements actually. There are at least 10 states in the country who's constitutions disallow any transfer of such violations from other states. Reason being quite simply that many of the states know that other states give out speeding/traffic tickets like it's candy. Ohio, for example, is one state which has the hardest time getting any other state to honor their tickets for their poor reputation of giving out a large amount of illegimate tickets and being plagued with scandals iwhich have exposed this (look up a city called Rome, OH..I believe was the name of it; they lost their charter simply because their abuse of giving out tickets was so out of hand that the state had to step in after so many complaints). Most of the time, certain border states have reciprocity agreements (like KY/TN)..but that's it. So..if you get a ticket in Georgia and you're from New York, there's a huge chance you don't have to worry about the ticket. Now I wouldn't encourage not paying your ticket...if you get a ticket..pay it regardless of a reciprocity agreement; but I wouldn't worry about the points being transferred over to your home state.

 

[KevinFSU]

They aren't being "paid" or "encouraged" to do their job. They are being compensated for working when they are normally off-duty.

Again, you are misinformed about reciprocity.

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Driver_License_Compact

http://www.aamva.org/drivers/drv_compactsDLC.asp

 

[markc]

They aren't being "paid" or "encouraged" to do their job. They are being compensated for working when they are normally off-duty.

Re-read what you just said, and you contradict yourself..How are they are they not being "paid" to do their job? Compensation is just a form of payment, which is ultimately a form of financial encouragement to do something. Same deal, just different wording. I'm not quite sure what your point was there.

Regardless, the police force is an extension of the government; there's absolutely no reason as to why a private organization should encourage or have a govermental agency on their payroll. This only leads to abuse eventually. And if you think for a second that these cops being paid by Disney aren't going to go overboard on ticket-giving to justify their exisistance and pay, then you are mistaken.

Again, you are misinformed about reciprocity.

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Driver_License_Compact

http://www.aamva.org/drivers/drv_compactsDLC.asp

I was stating what I was told five years ago by a judge when discussing a ticket I recieved in Ohio, but was a resident of Michigan. At that time, it's very likely that at least 10 states weren't apart of the pact (at the present time, there's only five that aren't..but a handful of member states that still don't transfer points for minor violations..)

 

[Timmay]

Disney gave them the OK to pull people over, heck WDW built an OCSO Sheriff's substation near Downtown Disney.

My problem is if they're on WDW payroll, they shouldn't be handing out STATE ISSUED citations.

Yeah, it's a shame that you have to pay a fine for doing something that is against the law...huh.:brick:

"I should be able to speed, but if I get caught, I really should get off on a technicality" :lol:

 

[ThumpersThought]

This discussion about off duty police is a moot point (as far as Disney). The roads they are patrolling are public not private. Sure, it's Disney's property, but the roads in question are right of ways -- they belong to Orange County or the state (depending on the road). You don't think Disney owns roads like I-4 do you? It does run through the property...

The police who are writing the tickets are on-duty OCS working on publicly owned roads.

And this $200 thing... come on, this was a rumor one person posted. $200 for doing what? This would have absolutely nothing to do with Disney and everything to do with whatever law was broken and what the law says the penalty must be.

 

[mkt]

Police are police 24/7. Police are hired off duty all the time. Doesn't matter who they are working for at the time, they can enforce every single law, including traffic infractions.

and they can issue state issued citation, whose revenue goes to the state, while working for a private company? That has to be some sort of conflict of interest

 

[mkt]

Yeah, it's a shame that you have to pay a fine for doing something that is against the law...huh.:brick:

"I should be able to speed, but if I get caught, I really should get off on a technicality" :lol:

When the police officer refuses to show me the radar that clocked me speeding, and I have witnesses in the car that state I wasn't speeding, and the cruise control was set at the speed limit... then I get upset.

 

[peter11435]

This discussion about off duty police is a moot point (as far as Disney). The roads they are patrolling are public not private. Sure, it's Disney's property, but the roads in question are right of ways -- they belong to Orange County or the state (depending on the road). You don't think Disney owns roads like I-4 do you? It does run through the property...

The police who are writing the tickets are on-duty OCS working on publicly owned roads.

And this $200 thing... come on, this was a rumor one person posted. $200 for doing what? This would have absolutely nothing to do with Disney and everything to do with whatever law was broken and what the law says the penalty must be.

The roads in question are primarily World Drive, Epcot Center Drive and Osceola Parkway. All fall under the juridiction of the Reedy Creek Improvement District or WDW. All are owned by one of the two as well. The only roads that pass through Disney property that do not belong to WDW/RCID are 192, I-4, and the new 429.

 

[ThumpersThought]

The roads in question are primarily World Drive, Epcot Center Drive and Osceola Parkway. All fall under the juridiction of the Reedy Creek Improvement District or WDW. All are owned by one of the two as well. The only roads that pass through Disney property that do not belong to WDW/RCID are 192, I-4, and the new 429.

The Expressway Authority will be surprised to find out they no longer own Osceola Parkway. According to their map, they own it from just outside the Animal Kingdom to Buenaventura BLVD.

World Center Drive and Epcot Center drive are both considered public roads. Public funds are used on the maintenance of these roads.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

When the police officer refuses to show me the radar that clocked me speeding, and I have witnesses in the car that state I wasn't speeding, and the cruise control was set at the speed limit... then I get upset.

Hmm...I don't know what state you are from, but that is pretty standard practice...here in Michigan they are not required to show you a radar if they use one to catch you speeding; and witnesses INSIDE the car are never admissible in any situation involving speeding...

 

[Woody13]

When the police officer refuses to show me the radar that clocked me speeding, and I have witnesses in the car that state I wasn't speeding, and the cruise control was set at the speed limit... then I get upset.

The Valentine 1 can't detect Vascar. Vascar is used a lot now with the advent of computer controlled camera systems. Vascar observations can be made from police vehicle mounted cameras (cars, motorcycles, airplanes, helicopters, etc.) as well as stationary cameras. You have no defense.

Vascar computations can be made by the observations of a single police officer and a stopwatch without any other gear. Remember, police officers are special high intensity trained observers. Only Chuck Norris can detect Vascar. :wave:

 

[Sgt156]

Maybe I can help you with the off duty/on duty confusion. I am a police Sgt. in Illinois. You have to think of Disney as one big subdivision. They contact the police and complain and request "extra patrol" There is no extra compensation, it is for the law enforcement agency to figure out how to deploy the officers. Also, the speed limits seem to be low, that is because it is easier to stop a vehicle at 35MPH when you come upon a lost tourist going 10mph around a bend than if you were going 55mph. It cracks me up that the people complaining about getting pulled over for breaking a traffic law are the same people that complain if someone saves too many seats at fantasmic or a kid is making too much noise at one of the shows. Oh by the way, SPEED does kill. I just handled a fatal last week because someone was driving 20mph over the limit and hit a pole.

 

[peter11435]

The Expressway Authority will be surprised to find out they no longer own Osceola Parkway. According to their map, they own it from just outside the Animal Kingdom to Buenaventura BLVD.

World Center Drive and Epcot Center drive are both considered public roads. Public funds are used on the maintenance of these roads.

Public Funds are not used for the maintenance of World Drive or Epcot Center Drive. Epcot Center Drive is maintained, owned and operated by the RCID. World Drive is maintained, owned and operated by the RCID south of Epcot Center Drive and WDW north of Epcot Center Drive. As for Osceola Parkway contrary to what the EA may say; it is maintained, owned, and operated by the RCID between the WDW arch and Buena Vista Drive. Between Buena Vista Drive and Animal Kingdom it is maintained, owned and operated by WDW.

 

[ThreeCircles]

That said there was an article in the Orlando Sentinel a year or so ago that stated it was Disney who requested more police on the roads to catch speeders. They knew they had a real problem with speeding CM's.

I have read the same thing. In fact, I believe information about the request was posted on the CM Portal as one of the major problems Disney was having was with CMs speeding and possible liability issues.

 

[Craig & Lisa]

The one thing that I haven't seen in this post is that alot of WDW land is preserved for animals, now some here may not think much about that but, have you ever thought what would happen if 1, you were caught speeding, and 2, clipped and animal that was endangered?

 

[mkt]

Maybe I can help you with the off duty/on duty confusion. I am a police Sgt. in Illinois. You have to think of Disney as one big subdivision. They contact the police and complain and request "extra patrol" There is no extra compensation, it is for the law enforcement agency to figure out how to deploy the officers. Also, the speed limits seem to be low, that is because it is easier to stop a vehicle at 35MPH when you come upon a lost tourist going 10mph around a bend than if you were going 55mph. It cracks me up that the people complaining about getting pulled over for breaking a traffic law are the same people that complain if someone saves too many seats at fantasmic or a kid is making too much noise at one of the shows. Oh by the way, SPEED does kill. I just handled a fatal last week because someone was driving 20mph over the limit and hit a pole.

Unfortunately, in this situation, OCSO Sector 6 (ie- WDW) is paid for by Disney. Their tools may be state issued, but the officers are on Disney payroll.

 

[Coastercameron]

SPEED does kill. I just handled a fatal last week because someone was driving 20mph over the limit and hit a pole.

Sad to hear that, but it still doesn't conflict with my point. Hitting a tree or post can be fatal even at reletively low speeds, not to mention that one could drive 20 or even 50 mph over the speed limit if the conditions were right, and not hit a pole. You have to be driving wrecklessly to do that.